Petals
by elesi
Summary: Rin plays that game... "He love me... He loves me not..."


Kakashi spent the better part of his late afternoon on a small bridge that crossed a small stream, debating with himself if he would go look for Rin.

It had been a busy day for him. He had visited the memorial stone; had a meeting with the hokage and the elders about inter-village relations; was assigned by Tsunade-sama to review some assessment reports about the latest A and S-rank missions the village's ninjas had accomplished; had a ramen speed-eating challenge at the Ichiraku against Gai (and lost by half a bowl); and met with Naruto, Sakura and Sai for briefing about an upcoming mission on that small bridge which was one of the usual places where he met with his team. After all that, he found himself with free time in his hands and wanting to see Rin.

It was Rin's day off from the hospital and she was supposed to spend that afternoon out with some friends from work. Kakashi had the biggest urge to follow her around but was deliberating if he should do it. Anyway, he can do it covertly. Or maybe he'll go show himself and pretend to "happen to pass by." But he knew that she would know that it wasn't really the case. He also considered making his ninken look for her and just report to him how she's doing. But he'd rather look for her himself.

Kakashi sighed and scratched the back of his head. Assessing the reports and formulating tactics for battle felt easier than this. What was stopping him? He remembered how one time she remarked that he worries about her too much. She said it without a hint of hurt or exasperation. And she's right. If she survived more than ten years living outside the village without him, then she'd be totally fine on a normal day out with some friends. He leaned his arms on the railing of the bridge, still thinking what to do.

He was saved from his inner turmoil when Rin showed up on the path that led to the bridge. He made an inward sigh of relief as he watched her gait liven up when she caught sight of him. She donned a knee-length summer dress and wore dainty slippers on her feet, her outfit suitable for the warm weather they were having. She had her hair down, cascading down her shoulders. She beamed at him as she approached.

"Hi," she greeted.

"Yo," he casually greeted back. "Had a good time?"

"Yes," she replied. "I passed by the memorial stone. Thought I might find you there."

"I was there earlier."

She nodded. "I left some flowers for Obito. But I kept one for myself." She showed him a single white chrysanthemum she was holding and he nodded in acknowledgement. For a couple of minutes, they stood in silence, Kakashi content with having Rin's presence beside him. He watched as she twirled the flower in her hands, glance at him then turn her attention back to the flower.

She plucked one petal from the flower. "He loves me," she murmured. She plucked out another petal. "He loves me not."

"What're you doing?" he asked though he had a general idea what it was. She chuckled. "I used to do this a lot before. Way back, when we were younger." He did recall seeing her a couple of times doing that to a flower. But those times, he never heard her say anything. She continued with what she was doing, murmuring as each petal was removed from the flower, distinct enough for him to hear. "He loves me… He loves me not…"

"Did you believe what it told you?" he asked.

"Sometimes," she whispered. Slowly, the flower lost its petals. "He loves me… He loves me not…"

Rin noticed that Kakashi was getting drawn in to what she was doing. He watched as the petals swirled as they fell to the stream below. Her mumbling was hypnotizing him. "He loves me… He loves me not…"

One by one, the petals were picked off from the chrysanthemum until it was almost nothing but a stem. Finally, Rin said, "He loves me."

But there was still one petal left on the flower. Kakashi waited but Rin wouldn't move, wouldn't finish her game, wouldn't pick off the last petal and declare "He loves me not."

He waited a bit more. "Just pick it off," he said. "Just don't believe it, okay?"

Rin looked at him and he smiled at her. She let go of the flower, the last petal remained unplucked. It feel to the stream and was carried away by the flowing water. And she smiled back at him.


End file.
